Refugee Assistance Groups Call for More State Coordination

None by KCPW

(KCPW News) Hundreds of refugees arrive in Utah each year from war-torn countries like Burundi and Sudan. They struggle to learn English, find jobs and adapt to a foreign culture. And the agencies that help them struggle to coordinate their own efforts. But they say a statewide Office of Refugee Services could help.

"As far as state appropriated dollars to help the refugees, it's very limited," says Shu Cheng, executive director of the Asian Association of Utah. "Part of the role of this Office of Refugee Services would be to go to the legislature and ask for funding."

Cheng is a member of the Refugee Working Group organized by Governor Jon Huntsman and Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon. The group believes an Office of Refugee Services would expand the state's current focus from managing federal refugee dollars to allocating some of its own. They note that Utah lawmakers recently denied a 100-thousand dollar refugee services request from Governor Huntsman.

Cheng says the working group's recommendations also highlight the need for better coordination between agencies that serve refugees.

He makes a medical analogy: "If we were helping a client with a medical condition and another agency was helping them for the same condition, it would be crucial that we coordinate," says Cheng.

Too often, he says refugees visit multiple state agencies and local nonprofits for help with the same issue - and in many cases those efforts counteract each other.

The Refugee Working Group recommendations are currently available for public comment and will soon be presented to Governor Huntsman and Mayor Corroon.

Click here to see the group's recommendations.

Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom. Copyright 2008 KCPW